The storm that was rolling across the country would later be known as “The Beast from the East” and I decided that I had picked the wrong time to arrive in Ireland. Luckily I arrived on the first day of the storm, because for the following four days I was stuck inside with my friend in her apartment while the rest of Dublin and perhaps the country was frozen and shut in. The grocery stores had all run out of milk and alcohol, we saw on the news that some were fighting over bread. We had a bottle of Jameson Whiskey to keep us warm during those four days and I was really able to get reacquainted with my host-a girlfriend from college as well as catch up on movies and sleep.

Though it was frustrating being stuck inside due to the storm, the pubs (of course) remained open and you could not imagine how magical it was to walk around after the snow had fallen. It was so cold out, that the first pub we found and entered was the only one for that night – we picked well and ended up in a crowded establishment in the The Temple Bar neighborhood that had live music and hot food.